Karstens (2-0), who was acquired from the New York Yankees on
July 26, came within four outs of throwing the first perfect
game in the franchise's 122-year history and the 18th in major
league history.

The 25-year-old righthander retired 23 straight batters before
Chris Young drilled a 1-1 hanging curveball down the left field
line for a two-out double.

"It was one of those things and he (Young) stayed on a pitch and
hit it down the line," said Karstens, who threw six scoreless
innings against Chicago on Friday in his first start as a
Pirate. "Major league hitters are going to do that."

However, his start was inauspicious as he allowed a pair of deep
fly balls to Orlando Hudson and Conor Jackson.

"After the first inning, I thought it was going to be a long
day," said Karstens, who was acquired in the deal that sent
Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to New York. "They hit all those
balls hard. Sometimes it's better to be luck than good."

"Obviously he was outstanding," Pirates manager John Russell
said. "No hitter in the eighth and he threw the ball as good as
he can throw it. That is what he is capable of."

Ironically, losing pitcher Randy Johnson (9-8) - a former
teammate of Karstens - threw the last perfect game in 2004
against Atlanta. Karstens left his former Yankees teammate
thoroughly impressed.

"Jeff pitched outstanding," Johnson said. "I got to see him a
little bit when he was in New York on that shuttle up and down
(from the minors to the majors). You got to see him pitch and
he opened a lot of eyes."

Karstens, who also had a pair of hits, kept the free-swinging
Diamondbacks on their heels with an array of breaking balls and
off-speed pitches, throwing 72 of 113 pitches for strikes and
reaching a three-ball count just three times. However, Young
ended Karstens' bid to become the first Pirate to throw a
no-hitter since Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon combined on
a 10-inning no-hitter against Houston on July 12, 1997.

He settled for a two-hit shut out and his first complete game in
his 11th major league start.

Karstens came back out for the ninth and issued his first walk
to Augie Ojeda but snagged a grounder from Tony Clark to start a
1-6-3 double play. After a single by Stephen Drew, Karstens got
Hudson to ground out to end it.

"You have to give him credit," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said.
"It wasn't overpowering, but he kept that ball out from over the
middle of the plate, mixed it up and changed it up as the game
went along."

It may not have been easy, but Karstens sure made it look so.
The Diamondbacks had little to speak of in terms of close calls
before Young's double.

Mark Reynolds, who had two of the hardest-hit balls off
Karstens. He drilled a long fly ball to center field in the
fifth that forced Jason Michaels to the warning track. And, in
the eighth, after Karstens got Chad Tracy to fly out to center,
Reynolds hit a hot shot to third that Chris Gomez bobbled before
throwing him out by a step.

Young then spoiled the quest for perfection by pulling the
hanging breaking ball down the left field line.

Karstens was handed a 2-0 lead thanks to a solo homer from
Freddy Sanchez in the fourth and an RBI double from Doug
Mientkiewicz in the eighth.

A future Hall of Famer, Johnson yielded two runs and seven hits
in 7 1/3 innings and was denied his 294th career win.